Robert H. Harris

Robert H. Harris (born Robert H. Hurwitz, July 15, 1911 – November 30, 1981) was an American character actor born in Manhattan.

Career

A veteran of the Yiddish Art Theater, Robert H. Harris made his first Broadway appearance in 1937. From 1950 onwards, he appeared extensively on television series, specializing in playing shady, if not outright evil, characters. From 1953–1956 he played Jake Goldberg in The Goldbergs, one of his few sympathetic roles. In 1957, Harris played the lead role in The Court of Last Resort. He also made many guest appearances in many other TV series. These include eight appearances in Alfred Hitchcock Presents between 1956–1961 and seven appearances in Perry Mason between 1958–1965. Among his seven appearances, he played the murderer three times, the murder victim once, and defendant once. He also appeared in other television series such as 77 Sunset Strip, Ben Casey, The Asphalt Jungle, and Rawhide. He starred in the 1958 B-movie horror film How to Make a Monster and had notable appearances as a rich cuckold in Elia Kazan's 1963 film America America, and Edward Dmytryk's 1965 film Mirage, as the obsessive-compulsive consulting psychiatrist. His other film credits included roles in Bundle of Joy (1956), The Invisible Boy (1957), Peyton Place (1957), The George Raft Story (1961), Apache Uprising (1965), Valley of the Dolls (1967), How Awful About Allan (1970), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) and The Man in the Glass Booth (1975).